412 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 196 



One day the mother went to wash clothes in the river. A big 

 watersnake that was living in the river at that place spouted forth a 

 great gush of water which washed the woman away. She was never 

 seen anymore. From then on the people knew that this was a 

 dangerous place and did not dare to go there anymore. 



The boy never thought of his mother; he was but a small chUd 

 and never even noticed her absence. 



One day, when he was about 5 or 6 years old, he was making a new 

 bow and some arrows. He used a stone to sharpen his knife, and 

 with every stroke of the knife upon the stone he heard: "Tsatsi, 

 tsatsi!" 



He inquired of people about this word: "Was there any person who 

 ever lived whom I could call tsatsi f 



They said: "Yes, that word means 'your mother.' You used to 

 have a mother once." 



He asked them what had become of his mother. They told him 

 all about what had happened to her — how she had once gone to wash 

 clothes in the river, and how a big watersnake had washed her from 

 the bank. 



When he heard this, he became angry at this reptile and said that 

 he was going to the place where this had happened. 



"You had better not do that," the people told him. "There must 

 be something dangerous hving there. Nobody ever goes there." 



"Well, I am going there anyway," he said, "and I am going to kill 

 that snake." 



They told him not to try to do this because the snake would kill 

 him; but "I will go anyway," he said, and he started off. 



As soon as he came to the place, he saw the snake lying right in 

 the middle of the river. 



He shot it, and killed it. 



2.— FLEAKILLER PLAYS KICK BALL* 



This is what they also told me about Fleakiller (it happened when 

 he had grown up) : 



He had a sister, and wherever Fleakiller went, he and his sister 

 were always together. 



Once they met one of the Little People, also with his sister. (The 

 Little People are great wizards.) They challenged FleakUler and his 

 sister to a game of kick ball.^^ They wanted Fleakiller to play 

 against the Little Person's sister first. Fleakiller refused, unless she 

 kicked first. 



"No," she said. "You kick first." 



**An{fl)l&:iaaU6. ('they apply the foot to It'). It Is played by a team of women versus a team of men. 



